Belgian could be out of OLAF race

The Parliamentary hearings of candidates for the directorship of OLAF, the EU anti-fraud office, (see right) were marred by two controversies.

European Voice

10/12/05, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/12/14, 11:59 AM CET

Lawyers in the European Commission have concluded that one of the five candidates shortlisted by their colleagues for the top post in OLAF, the EU anti-fraud office, does not have the qualifications required.

While the notice for the post stipulated that applicants should have a university degree and 15 years of professional experience, the lawyers have found that Belgian police director Johan Denolf only had 13 years' experience.

A Commission official handling the competition said that the shortcoming had only been spotted after the shortlist, including Denolf's name, had been sent to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers.

The Commission has decided to withdraw Denolf from the list but the formal written procedure on removing his name will not conclude until today (13 October).

Denolf said that the Commission had not stated that the work experience must be subsequent to obtaining a university degree.

The Commission ad-mitted in the hearing that an email containing its assessments of the five candidates had been sent in error to one of them, Franz-Herman Brüner, the current director of OLAF. But, an official said, the email had been redirected before it was read by Brüner.

The committee agreed to delay a vote to find its preferred candidate for the position.